


I Can See You Now

by Carmenlire



Series: Flufftober [18]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Clizzy - Freeform, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Soulmates, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 04:09:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16339532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmenlire/pseuds/Carmenlire
Summary: Alec dreams of warm brown eyes that somehow glint gold in the sunlight. They crinkle at the corners and Alec knows he’s seeing his soulmate laughing. In his sleep, he smiles and once he wakes in the morning, remembering perfectly those lovely eyes, he knows that he’s just seen his soulmate for the first time.Or, Alec dreams of his soulmate.





	I Can See You Now

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [I Can See You Now (Traducción)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260009) by [lbp98l](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lbp98l/pseuds/lbp98l)



> Prompt: Eyes
> 
> Hey guys! This is the Alec companion piece to Can You See Me. Happy Reading!

Alec’s eight the first time he dreams. It’s later than most other children get their first clue on who their soulmate is and Alec’s felt his parents casting worried glances his way for the past year or so. 

He might be young but he knows that he doesn’t want to be someone who doesn’t have a soulmate.

Izzy is only five and she’s already dreamed about green eyes and glowing hair. Alec likes to tease her about it but secretly he can’t help but wish he could know who _his_ person is.

It’s not much, the dream. For eons, people have lamented the fact that the dreams never give anything useful away-- a name or a street. It’s always more impressions than anything concrete-- the whisper of their laugh, a profile in shadow.

Alec dreams of warm brown eyes that somehow glint gold in the sunlight. They crinkle at the corners and Alec knows he’s seeing his soulmate laughing. In his sleep, he smiles and once he wakes in the morning, remembering perfectly those lovely eyes, he knows that he’s just seen his soulmate for the first time.

He doesn’t tell his parents. They’re always fighting, anyway, and he wants to hold onto this for a little while longer. He doesn’t want to keep it a secret per se, but he wants to hold it close to his chest.

Alec’s always been a little introverted and at seven years old, he’s already reserved.

Izzy pries it out of him after dinner that evening, though.

“Why are you acting weird,” she asks, jumping onto his bed and picking up his stuffed animal-- a penguin named Peter.

Alec sits down next to her, absently brushes her hair out of her face. Izzy is rambunctious enough for the both of them, he thinks.

“What do you mean?”

Rolling over to her stomach, Isabelle stacks her hands under her chin and gives him a considering look. “You didn’t really say anything at dinner, which isn’t weird, but you kept smiling to yourself and staring over my head. So, what’s up?”

Alec debates for a minute, but if he’s going to tell anyone than it’s going to be his little sister.

He trusts her with anything and everything.

Leaning close, Alec confides, “I had a dream last night.”

Gasping, Isabelle shoots to her knees, clutching Peter the Penguin as she does a happy shimmy. “You dreamed of your soulmate,” she asks, just a hair too loud for Alec’s peace of mind.

“Hush,” Alec says, low. “It’s just between the two of us.”

“Are you happy,” she stage whispers.

Alec takes a minute to think. The truth is, he’s more than happy. He might have just caught a glimpse of golden eyes but it’s settled something in him. It hasn’t really changed anything-- Alec knows that he probably won’t meet his soulmate for years-- but it’s made it all _real_.

There’s someone out there just for him. It makes something warm bubble in his chest. It’s comforting and happy. Alec wonders what he’s like.

“Can I tell you a secret,” Alec asks, distracted with thoughts of the boy he’ll love.

“Of course,” Izzy replies, serious even as her eyes dance.

“I think I might already love him a little bit,” he confesses, biting his lip as the words leave him.

Izzy takes it all in stride, patting Alec on the knee. “That’s okay,” she says. “I’ve been in love with my soulmate since I first saw her eyes. She’s _so_ pretty.”

Laughing, Alec dryly replies, “You might’ve mentioned that before.”

Izzy mockingly glares at him and in the next minute she’s climbing off the bed only to wrap her arms around Alec.

“I’m happy for you, hermano. You deserve the best.”

Alec hugs her back, watches amused as she skips out of his room.

Once alone, he falls back on his bed, starfished. He stares up at the sky and pictures warm brown eyes. It’s such a small thing but it means so much.

Alec still has to go to school and he still has to eat broccoli but there’s a new source of fun and distraction.

Math homework takes him twice as long as it usually does but he can’t find it in himself to care.

He falls asleep that night, cozy under his dinosaur sheets, and dreams of a smiling boy with the sun in his eyes.

 

Alec is eighteen and can’t wait to move to college. Graduation is two months away and he’s tired of this townhouse and it’s constant atmosphere of goddamn oppression.

He’s tired of hearing his parents fight all the damned time instead of just divorcing and saving everyone the headache. He’s tired of being pressured to follow in the Lightwood steps and be groomed to take over Lightwood Industries the day he graduates.

The only saving grace these days is his soulmate. Alec still has nothing to go one except for glimpses of dark hair and lined eyes. His eventual love likes to take fashion risks and prefers to journal outside.

On more than one night,--when Alec sweats about his path after high school and the tension in the house makes his jaw clench-- he closes his eyes and thinks of brown eyes, always so welcoming, always so warm.

He’s doing that now, trying to destress for his AP English exam tomorrow when the door to his room bangs open. He shoots to an upright position and sees his father step into his bedroom, his usually placid countenance morphed into something angry and unpleasant.

“Alec, what exactly is the meaning of this?”

Alec’s gaze darts to the piece of paper crumpled in his father’s fist. He can just barely make out the school’s insignia.

His heart leaps into his throat and he gives himself a brief microsecond to cheer internally before he braces himself for battle.

“It looks like a piece of mail,” he offers, shrugging in what he hopes is an innocent way.

“Yes, it is. It’s your acceptance letter to Columbia. Lightwoods don’t go to Columbia, Alec. For six generations, the men in our family have gone to Harvard and that’s just how it is. Have you received your letter from Harvard yet?”

Alec takes a subtle breath, spine straightening as he meets his father’s eyes without flinching. “I didn’t apply to Harvard.”

Robert looks on the verge of a coronary before he visible restrains himself, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

Alec watches stoically. Internally he counts down the days until he can finally leave-- only forty two days left.

Opening his eyes, Robert looks at Alec coldly. “While this is less than ideal, I think that I could still make some calls and get you in.”

 _This is it_ , Alec thinks. His time to stand up for himself and make a clean break.

“I’m going to Columbia, dad,” Alec says, unapologetic. “I’ve already been accepted into their writing program.”

"Writing,” Robert repeats. “No son of mine is going to flagrantly disregard the Lightwood Legacy. You want to go to Columbia so much? You can still major in something useful, like business or strategic planning.”

“No,” Alec says, firm. “I want to be an author.”

Robert looks at him for a minute before something shutters in his eyes. Alec swallows back the apologies that are on the tip of his tongue. This is what he wants and he knows that he’d never be happy at Lightwood Industries, always at his parents’ beck and call.

Robert doesn’t say anything else, just clenches his jaw hard enough to crack a tooth and leaves.

Alec knows that he’s burned that bridge to the ground by he can’t regret it when he feels so much lighter already.

He’s caught glimpses at his soulmates life and knows that he’s a dancer-- Alec’s seen him bandaging bleeding toes and swears he could feel phantom pain from over-training once. If his soulmate has enough courage to pursue their passion than they deserve nothing less in return.

Alec doesn’t tell his dad that he’s already published a few poems in the school newspaper, has a short story that’s been accepted for a popular magazine.

He doesn’t deserve to know and Alec holds no illusions that the admission would be pleasant for anyone involved.

Alec goes to bed a couple of hours later and dreams of soothing brown eyes, his calm in the storm.

 

Alec walks along the path that trails through Central Park. He’s exhausted but wired at the same time. He’s just left a meeting with a media company and his latest series has been optioned for a movie trilogy.

He’s twenty six and feels on top of the world.

All of a sudden he remembers that long ago conversation with his father that had ended on a stalemate on both sides. He laughs a little to himself. Even he could never have dreamed of this kind of success.

He’s a bestselling author with two books currently on the New York Times bestseller list. He’s living in his home city and enjoying the early spring sunshine, warming him through his jacket.

His life is damned near perfect. Keyword: near.

Alec’s career is amazing and he has Izzy and Jace and, lately, his mother as a tight knit family. There’s just one thing missing and that’s his soulmate.

He’s twenty six and he’s made his name. He’s ready to work on something together, with the supposed love of his life. He still dreams regularly of dark brown eyes and he still doesn’t understand how they can glow gold in the light. Izzy tells him to just be patient, that good things take time-- but she met her soulmate when she was seventeen and her and Clary have been inseparable ever since.

He looks forward to finding out what that might be like.

Alec sighs. _One day_.

He’s coming up on a coffee kiosk and has a sudden craving for something sweet. It’s late afternoon and he could use a pick-me-up.

He moves closer to the coffee cart and looks up at the board, eyeing the menu. He doesn’t notice the man walking his way, reaching for his caramel frappuccino.

He _does_ notice when the man turns around, takes a step, and runs right into him.

The first thing that pierces through his surprise is the smell. It’s caramel and coffee and whip cream in a mix that would have his mouth watering at any other time.

Then, he sucks in a harsh breath as the icy drink seeps through his navy suit, through his once pristine white button up. Distantly, he thinks that he’ll have to throw the whole damn thing away.

Everything comes to a crashing halt, though, as his gaze darts up and meets the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen. They’re deep, bottomless, and Alec wants to lose himself in them.

He thinks he already has.

The clouds move and the sun peeks out, dousing them both in warmth.

He’s smiling without realizing it as he watches gold flecks wash through the irises.

The two of them are still, the entire world fallen silent.

Alec meets his soulmate’s eyes and knows that this is just the beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on tumblr @carmenlire!


End file.
